The wait is over! Major League Baseball is back! The MLB season started with a two-game series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs in Tokyo, Japan, on March 18. The Los Angeles Dodgers won both games in the series and would go on to win six more, achieving an 8-0 record before narrowly losing to the Philadelphia Phillies. The Dodgers, the reigning World Series champions, look dominant, but amazingly, they have some serious competition in their division, the National League West.
The National League East division consists of the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals, Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins. The Braves had the best record in the division for six years in a row from 2018 to 2023, but the Phillies won the division in 2024 before losing to the New York Mets in the National League Division Series. The Braves, Phillies and Mets have a solid chance of making the postseason. As expected, the Phillies and Mets started strong with records of 7-2 and 8-3, respectively. However, the Braves had a rough start, with just one win through their first nine games. There are still more than 150 games for them to catch up. The Nationals and Marlins also have things to be excited about. Nationals’ pitcher Mitchell Parker is 2-0 and has an 0.73 ERA. Marlin’s shortstop Xavier Edwards has a batting average of .282 and the Marlins have a respectable record of 5-6.
The National League Central division includes the Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals. The Chicago Cubs started the season with eight wins and five losses. They have won eight of their first 11 games played in the United States, showing their potential to win the division. Other teams can compete with them, though. The Brewers have five wins and five losses; Jackson Chourio, who recently turned 21 years old, already has three home runs. The Cardinals scored five runs against pitcher Paul Skenes, which is incredible given how dominant Paul Skenes has been. Isiah Kiner-Falefa of the Pittsburgh Pirates has an incredible batting average of .343. Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds had seven RBIs in a dominant win versus the Texas Rangers. There are definitely a good number of amazing players in this division. Many of those players are young and should be good for many years to come.
The National League West division has the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants. The Dodgers are expected to win the division and have one of the best rosters in baseball history. They have Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani, all recipients of the MVP award. The Padres have performed well, starting the season with a record of 9-2. Padres’ superstar, Fernando Tatis Jr., has an outstanding batting average of .381. The Diamondbacks, who appeared in the 2023 World Series and won 89 games in 2024, will likely have a good season. The Giants had a record of 8-2 in their first 10 games. In those 10 games, Wilmer Flores hit four home runs. The Colorado Rockies’ Ezequiel Tovar has had a strong start with a batting average of .282.
The Dodgers are the favorite to win the National League, but maybe one of the other 14 teams will shock the baseball world and represent the National League in the World Series.
